Top Films of 2023
2023 felt like a year where a sea change became to take place in the world of cinema. It is customary for the changes that our culture experiences from decade to decade to begin to fully settle once…
Read More »Radical Shows That Sentiment Can Still Be Impactful (Sundance Film Festival)
On the surface, Radical would seem to be too much of the same to be an entertaining film; a sentimental film about a hopeful, enthusiastic teacher that must overcome systemic and administrative obstacles to reach the hard scrabble…
Read More »Fairyland is a Sweet Tale of Recognizing Our Parents’ Humanity (Sundance Film Festival)
As we’re guided through childhood by our parents, we often believe that they have all the answers we would ever need about how to navigate life. They can gain access to things we can’t, explain concepts that elude…
Read More »Shayda is an All-Encompassing Look at Overcoming Abusive Relationships (Middleburg Film Festival)
Shayda follows a young Iranian mother named Shayda (Zahra Amir Ebrahimi) who takes refuge in an Australian women’s shelter with her 6-year-old daughter Mona (Selina Zahednia) as she seeks a divorce from her estranged husband Hossein (Osamah Sami)…
Read More »The Persian Version Explores Mother-Daughter Relationships (Sundance Film Festival)
Writer/director Maryam Keshavarz’s new film explores the dynamics of the mother-daughter relationship amidst the backdrop of Persian culture. The Persian Version introduces us to Leila (Layla Mohammadi), a free-spirited Iranian American woman trying to find her way in…
Read More »Ferrari Doesn’t Quite Come Together Across the Finish Line
Legendary director Michael Mann returns to the big screen with a new biopic centered around a legendary car maker. Ferrari transports us to the summer of 1957 as Enzo Ferrari (Adam Driver) and his wife Laura (Penelope Cruz)…
Read More »The Color Purple is a Visual and Musical Marvel
Following up an iconic story with a new retelling is always a daunting task and adapting a story as beloved as this one can be even more challenging. The Color Purple follows the same story many are familiar…
Read More »Fingernails Fails to Live Up to Its Interesting Premise (Sundance Film Festival)
Studies consistently show that our society is increasingly lonely and isolated. Even the young who typically are enjoying the romantic exploration and freedom that typically accompanies youth in the post-World War II western world are having less sex and less relationships…
Read More »American Fiction is Part Emotional Family Drama, Part Genius Satire, Complete Masterwork (Middleburg Film Festival)
In the wake of America’s great racial and equity reckoning over the past decade, one conversation that has arisen amongst minority and underrepresented groups as a result is, who gets tell our stories and become elevated as the “voice” of…
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The Book of Clarence Can’t Fully Execute Its Ambitions
Director Jaymes Samuel knocked it out of the park with 2021’s The Harder They Fall making his feature length debut on Netflix to good critical reception and a splash on social media. Three years later, he’s ready to make his first…
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